...Moving ExperiencesIn my last post I was enthusing about the new build on my little 64m plot. The Scottish fishing village really caught my imagination, and that of many of my friends. What I didn't mention was the catastrophic "prim-overflow" I had during the build. It was one of those "mouse-click moments" that as soon as you've done it you know you are in trouble. In my case it was a clumsy un-linking that led to a rain of random items being returned to inventory from all over the parcel. Looking back of course it was my own fault - who else? I'd been working very close to the limit on primage anyway. So, after looking at the build, my medium term plans and all the other assets spread across the Grid, I decided, - time for a move. Finding a suitable site wasn't all that hard, though the current moratorium on new sims is putting pressure on the secondary market. Fortunately the estate I was renting from, Estia, had a corner 128m x 128m with 5000 prims available. I hate moving in FL, but it is a lot easier in SL! Since the reason behind this was a shortage of prims for the current builds, I decided to port everything across pretty much as is - I am fond of my Beach house and as has been said, if it ain't broke then don't fix it! So here I am a week later, the New Improved Beach House and a whole lot of primage to play with. Hope to share more travels with you next week!
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...So I've Been Building SomethingI've really enjoyed looking at locations for this Blog, and there's one I visited a couple of weeks ago that made a particular impression. Souls of Dreams is a beautiful sim, but not so different from some of the others I've talked about recently, so I decided to keep it for another day. The significant aspect of the sim is it's small dock area, which reminded me quite strongly of some of the images of my home town at the turn of the twentieth century. Grangemouth was important as it was the Eastern terminus of the Forth and Clyde Canal, a late-eighteenth century sea canal linking the East and West coasts of Scotland. The canal can be seen in the above image, with a lock controlling access to the dock. The thing is I'd been looking for a project, and some sort of "model" of the old port seemed worthwhile particularly since the area had been completely redeveloped in the 1970's. I began working from the lock gates, as they seemed a defining element, but it soon became clear that sourcing building was going to be an issue... Some aspects of the scene were easier to suggest, I was particularly pleased with this barge and steam tender. I even devised an off-sim extension for the canal to give some impression of distance. Most of my builds tend to start from a concept rather than a firm design, and as the project grew I was aware of a degree of "mission drift". While the prototype location was still suggested by the scene, it was actually beginning to look more and more like one of the many fishing villages on the Fife coast, so I decided deliberately to emphasise this. That meant the end of the location -specific canal, but since it was eating prims, that freed resources for a bit more fun elsewhere on the build. Populating the harbour space had also been a challenge, there are some impressive period boats out there, but the limitations of primage and building on a 64m x 64m sky platform precluded them. The little trawler however, seemed perfect and set the tenor of the scene very well, though it was a bit of a prim-hog, which eventually led to it's reluctant removal! The canal section had provided some sense of the extended space around the harbour, and with that gone, there was a need for some "backfill" to replace that. This came in the form some simple block building that certainly had a suitable colour palette for the scene, and don't look out of place, especially if you don't look too closely... This is the third build on my 64m x 64m home parcel, The other two are the Beach House at ground level and my little country estate, which you can learn more about on the My Own Spaces page. Both of those builds are permanent so there was always going to be a limit on the prims available for this build. There was never going to be a lot of fine details, but I still feel the "broad brush" approach here has worked, and the addition of some few items of clutter and ambient sound also help - the clock actually chimes. The build is on my plot so if you really would like to see it, drop me a Notecard in-world. Finally a slideshow of an early morning walk-through of the scene as it is now. Thanks for looking!
...Black KiteIt crossed my mind the other day that so far all the locations I have shared with you are quite literal and naturalistic, and indeed this is how my own builds appear. This week the opportunity arose to share something rather different...Black Kite. The first thing you notice on arrival is...there is no land. You stand in a shallow sea that extends to the horizon in every direction. There are no places to explore, no hidden pathways, you can see everything from your arrival, but don't be misled, Black Kite makes up for this by being one of the most serene locations in SL. As I hinted in my introduction, Black Kite is not a conventionally natural space, instead it offers an unforced but enchanting surrealism. The local Windlight is a key part of this, but also the use of space and a very sparing use of particular props,; the corkscrew trees, oversized bottles and the distant sounds of geese are just a few elements. Although I have been here before, my specific reason for visiting the sim this week was the 8f8 Gacha store that occupies a place within the sim. Even this is refreshingly unconventional, and great fun just to wander round. Black Kite is a wonderful space to visit and may even be good for your soul, but there are two things you should remember. This is a residential sim, it really is someone's very imaginative home, and you are only ever going to be a guest. Be respectful, read the Covenant as asked. Find one of the many couches around the sim, sit and enjoy being her, take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but ripples... Visit Black Kite There is also a Black Kite Flickr Group HERE And finally, a Black Kite slideshow for you to enjoy...
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AuthorI love well-crafted regions, and have spent many years wandering SL, avoiding yards of plywood and looking for the best places to spend my time... Archives
September 2023
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